submerge

verb

sub·​merge səb-ˈmərj How to pronounce submerge (audio)
submerged; submerging
Synonyms of submerge

transitive verb

1
: to put under water
2
: to cover or overflow with water
3
: to make obscure or subordinate : suppress
personal lives submerged by professional responsibilities

intransitive verb

: to go under water
submergence
səb-ˈmər-jən(t)s How to pronounce submerge (audio)
noun
submergible
səb-ˈmər-jə-bəl How to pronounce submerge (audio)
adjective

Synonyms of submerge

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Examples of submerge in a Sentence

After boiling the broccoli, submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking process. The town was submerged by the flood. We watched as the divers prepared to submerge. She's a marvelous actress who submerges herself totally in her roles.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On the greatest album of all time, her voice is less affected yet further out of reach, persistently clouded by AutoTune and sometimes submerged under the beats, so only her sibilants break the surface. — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026 In his lab, mold has appeared only under deliberately extreme conditions, like submerging beans in water for hours and then exposing them to air for days. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026 In the Chicago Tribune, Loerzel wrote that the opening of the Uptown in 1925 was cause for a festival, complete with bands, trapeze artists and a madcap performer who set himself ablaze and submerged himself in water to extinguish the flames. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 Halfway through, Brill pulls out a machine that fills the stage with foam, submerging the actors in a cumulus of bubbles. — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for submerge

Word History

Etymology

Latin submergere, from sub- + mergere to plunge — more at merge

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of submerge was in the 15th century

Rhymes for submerge

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Browse Nearby Words

submenu
submerge
submerged
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Cite this Entry

“Submerge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/submerge. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

submerge

verb
sub·​merge səb-ˈmərj How to pronounce submerge (audio)
submerged; submerging
1
: to put or go underwater
the whale submerged
2
: to cover or become covered with or as if with water
floods submerged the town
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